THE INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL STIGMA ON THE PSYCHOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT OF LGBTQIAPN+ YOUTH IN BRAZIL: AN INTERSECTIONAL ANALYSIS FROM A DECOLONIAL PSYCHOANALYTIC PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

This scientific article proposes an in-depth analysis of the intersectional influence of social stigmas on the development and mental health of LGBTQIAPN+ youth in the Brazilian context. The investigation goes beyond mere observation, critically and innovatively integrating decolonial psychoanalytic perspectives, Fanonian theory, and contemporary studies on intersectionality. This robust theoretical framework allows for moving beyond individualizing explanations of suffering. Through a qualitative and descriptive literature review, the study examines the profound psychological distress systematically engendered and sustained by social, racial, and colonial structures deeply rooted in Brazilian society. The analysis reveals unequivocally that mechanisms of stigma and oppression do not operate in isolation; rather, they reinforce one another and intensify dramatically where social markers—such as race, class, territory, and religiosity—intersect. This finding highlights the particular vulnerability of young people occupying multiple positions of subalternity, such as Black and marginalized LGBTQIAPN+ youth. Consequently, the study calls for the adoption of clinical and psychosocial approaches that are intrinsically sensitive to the complexities of these individuals' lives. Such approaches must be deeply committed to the process of depathologizing identities and suffering. The research reaffirms that the intense psychological distress experienced by these young people cannot be interpreted merely as an individual maladjustment or personal failure. Instead, it is the direct and manifest product of persistent social, historical, and institutional mechanisms of oppression and symbolic violence that structure Brazilian society.